Subject: [calsify] New iCalendar XML format draft

From: Steven Lees <[email-masked]>
Date: Fri, 12 Jun 2009 23:36:53 +0000

Hello,

Last week Cyrus Daboo, Mike Douglas and I submitted an Internet Draft that specifies an XML format for iCalendar. The draft was developed by the XML technical committee in CalConnect (http://calconnect.org), with input from representatives from Sun, RPI, Apple, Microsoft, and others. (The draft is here: http://www.ietf.org/internet-drafts/draft-daboo-et-al-icalendar-in-xml-00.txt.)

As you probably know, there have been some prior attempts to create an XML iCalendar specification, such as http://tools.ietf.org/html/draft-hare-xcalendar-03 and http://tools.ietf.org/html/draft-royer-calsch-xcal-03. There was a consensus among CalConnect members that there is enough use of one-off XML formatted calendar data to make it worth giving this another try.

My question for you all is whether you're interested in working on an XML iCalendar format specification at this time. There's a vCard XML format draft currently under discussion in the vcarddav group (http://tools.ietf.org/html/draft-perreault-vcarddav-vcardxml-01) and it would be great to develop an iCal XML format at the same time.

I created a sample iCal to XML converter based on our spec on http://xcal.cloudapp.net. When you have a chance, take a look at the draft and try out the converter, and let us know what you think.

Thanks!
Steven Lees

---

From: "Tim Hare" <[email-masked]>
Date: Sat, 13 Jun 2009 11:42:05 -0400

One of the best use cases for iCalendar-as-XML is for providing calendar
"feeds", I think, and as the draft says leveraging the available XML tools.
At a minimum it would shorten development time for handling calendar data. 
 
Jon Udell (also of Microsoft) has been writing a lot recently about
gathering calendar information from many different sources (for example:
http://blog.jonudell.net/2009/06/08/scribbling-in-the-margins-of-icalendar/
)  - I believe one of the goals of an XML form should be to provide an
Atom/RSS-compatible set of XML to further that type of thing. While not as
critical to organizations internally, as say, meeting scheduling, publishing
of calendar information can be critical.  My current employer, a US state
transportation department, is required to hold many public hearings and
public bid-openings in regard to  large construction projects.  Providing
that calendar information in a format useful to the citizenry would be a
major plus (I suppose I should post a disclaimer here that I'm speaking my
own opinions, not those of my employer).
 
I think it would also be useful to discuss the opposite (but simpler?)
transform: from XML-based calendar info to iCalendar.  It seems to me that
once something is available in XML, much development work centers around
that because of smaller development cost.   That means that more established
tools built around the iCalendar format will need a method of creating an
iCalendar input from an XML document, to allow for interoperability.
 
Tim Hare
Interested Bystander, Non-Inc.

  _____  

From: [email-masked] [mailto:[email-masked]] On Behalf
Of Steven Lees
Sent: Friday, June 12, 2009 7:37 PM
To: [email-masked]; [email-masked]
Subject: [calsify] New iCalendar XML format draft

Hello,

Last week Cyrus Daboo, Mike Douglas and I submitted an Internet Draft that
specifies an XML format for iCalendar. The draft was developed by the XML
technical committee in CalConnect (http://calconnect.org), with input from
representatives from Sun, RPI, Apple, Microsoft, and others. (The draft is
here:
http://www.ietf.org/internet-drafts/draft-daboo-et-al-icalendar-in-xml-00.tx
t.) 

As you probably know, there have been some prior attempts to create an XML
iCalendar specification, such as
http://tools.ietf.org/html/draft-hare-xcalendar-03 and
http://tools.ietf.org/html/draft-royer-calsch-xcal-03. There was a consensus
among CalConnect members that there is enough use of one-off XML formatted
calendar data to make it worth giving this another try.

My question for you all is whether you're interested in working on an XML
iCalendar format specification at this time. There's a vCard XML format
draft currently under discussion in the vcarddav group
(http://tools.ietf.org/html/draft-perreault-vcarddav-vcardxml-01) and it
would be great to develop an iCal XML format at the same time.

I created a sample iCal to XML converter based on our spec on
http://xcal.cloudapp.net. When you have a chance, take a look at the draft
and try out the converter, and let us know what you think.

Thanks!

Steven Lees

---

From: "Tim Hare" <[email-masked]>
Date: Sat, 13 Jun 2009 11:42:05 -0400

Tim Hare

  _____  

Hello,

Thanks!

Steven Lees

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---

From: "Tim Hare" <[email-masked]>
Date: Sat, 13 Jun 2009 11:42:05 -0400

Tim Hare

  _____  

Hello,

Thanks!

Steven Lees

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